Offensive linemen are often judged by what they prevent. A left tackle can play nearly flawless football for 60 minutes and still go unnoticed, because his best work happens on snaps where nothing goes wrong. Only the film shows how dominant a performance really was. A closer look at Sunday’s game shows a Browns rookie had his best day as a pro.
Mark Chichester of Pro Football Focus spotlighted Spencer Fano after the Browns’ 27-24 win over the Tennessee Titans.
“This week, Cleveland Browns rookie left tackle Spencer Fano takes center stage after earning a career-high 92.2 PFF overall grade against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. Through seven games, he has earned a 76.9 PFF overall grade, ranking 11th among 83 qualifying offensive tackles. After six games of fluctuating production, Cleveland’s first-round rookie delivered a standout performance, pairing his best work in the run game with a season-best outing in pass protection,” Chichester wrote.
The jump stands out because of where Fano started the week. He was coming off his lowest run-blocking grade of the season, a 41.8 against the Baltimore Ravens. Against Tennessee, he posted a 92.4 run-blocking grade, the best of any offensive lineman in Week 7, and a 92.2 overall grade that easily topped his previous high of 72.6.
His work on zone runs was especially strong. Fano earned a 90.1 grade on those plays, with more than a third graded as positive. On all run plays, he was graded negatively only 3.6% of the time. That consistency helped the Browns rush for 183 yards, their best total of the season.
The pass protection may be even more encouraging. Tennessee left him alone on more than 70% of his pass-blocking snaps, and he won 93.3% of those reps. He allowed just 2 pressures on 41 snaps, both to edge rusher Jacob Martin, while defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and rookie edge rusher Keldric Faulk never got to the quarterback when matched up with him.
That helped Deshaun Watson enjoy his cleanest afternoon in weeks. He was sacked only once after going down 13 times over the previous 2 games, and he threw for 308 yards.
Fano’s season numbers also show real growth. He has allowed 14 pressures on 280 pass-blocking snaps, but only 1 sack, and his 76.0 pass-blocking grade ranks 18th among tackles. For the 9th overall pick, ranking 11th overall at his position as a rookie is a strong start.
His rough days have not disappeared. He posted a 50.8 pass-blocking grade against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3, and the up-and-down pattern Chichester described is typical for a first-year tackle.
Still, his Week 4 pass-blocking grade of 81.7 came against the Pittsburgh Steelers, his 2nd-best mark of the season. The Browns visit Pittsburgh with 1st place on the line, and if Fano plays at that level again, the offense will have a chance to build on its best performance of the year.
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